A/N: And here we are, at Chapter Two! I can't believe all the reviews that just came in for Chapter One! I swear my eyes bugged out when I saw it. THANK YOU EVERYONE! I'm so sorry for the delay; I've been pretty busy lately. I've been going to summer tennis practice and I still need to do my summer homework. Fun. Anyways, that's enough of that. Disclaimer goes to Arisu-chan, aka our beloved Tsukimisou!

Arisu/Tsuki-chan: Aki-chan doesn't and never has owned Inuyasha or Memoirs of a Geisha. No matter how obsessed with them she'll become, she'll only be able to love them from afar, never claiming ownership unless Takahashi Rumiko or someone is crazy enough to let her have it. And now without any further delay, here's chapter two.

Chapter Two: Ame no Aka

"All of you, get behind me. Now!" Tsurugi said in a firm tone, drawing his sword from its sheath.

Tsurugi held the blade in a defensive stance, glancing over his shoulder to check that his companions were safe and out of harm's way. Satisfied, he returned his gaze to his opponent, a fire burning in his eyes.

Kago gulped back the lump that had formed in his throat and turned to look at his sister. She was petrified. Her eyes were wide and all the color in her face had suddenly drained out. She merely stared forward gazing fearfully at the man who had tried to take her away from her loved ones so many years before.

"My, my, my…the little brat that Sesshoumaru managed to sire has grown up. You look so remarkably like him…It's a pity that your good looks will have to go to waste; with your death and all…I wonder how your beloved father will cope with the grief. Losing two out of three children! Both of them that he sired himself! It really is quite a shame…" The youkai leader began.

Tsurugi felt his temper flare up at the mention of his late beloved sister, Tsukimisou, who had been murdered when she was just ten years old. He had never seen his mother in so much pain. His mother's agony further fueled his rage and in a split second, he struck. The blade sang as it sliced through flesh. A haze of crimson life permeated the earth, the ground now stained red. Tsurugi quickly pulled back, standing before his companions once again.

He never saw it coming. He should have known that for every action there was an equal and adverse reaction. The leader had made his attack faster than you could blink, and the next thing Tsurugi knew, he saw his own blood, pouring out of him in thin ribbon-like streams of scarlet.

"Tsu-kun!" Satsu screamed, rushing to him.

Satsu skidded to a halt, helping support Tsurugi just as he started to fall. She looked upon the leader in pure hatred, turning to her brother, giving him a knowing look. Aijii nodded, turning to Kago. He too nodded. Both took defensive stances and charged.

-

Yuri could only watch in fear. Her body had frozen. She was so terrified that she couldn't even muster enough shock to flinch as Tsurugi fell. Then she saw her brother go in to protect her once again. Before she knew it, tears had formed in her eyes, and they made their way down her face in salty trails. Daddy wasn't here to save her. Mommy wasn't here either. No one could stop them. She was the only one.

"Ungh! Itai!" Kago grunted, clutching his arm. He had a deep wound on his upper arm, and it had cut the muscle and part of the tendon and refused to move.

Aijii soared backwards through the air, hitting the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him.

All around her, her precious people were dying. They were dying and fighting for her to keep her safe. They fought for her because they loved her. Yuri found strength within her at last, her fear-stricken face hardening, her countenance becoming cool and determined, unafraid and unflinching.

"You're all alone now, Kaze-hime. No one can protect you now." The leader said with a smirk, his tone sounding much like honeyed venom.

Yuri turned to Satsu, who was still bent over Tsurugi who had appeared to have lost consciousness. She saw a folding fan sticking out of her bag, and found a small grin tug at the corners of her mouth.

"Satsu…give me your fan." She said just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Her companions looked shocked. It was the first time she'd spoken, and her first words in a long time were her request for the very object that she feared. Satsu seemed apprehensive but slowly handed over the fan. Yuri examined it for a moment before snapping it open with a flick of her wrist.

"There's still time to run…" Yuri said in a slightly threatening tone as she raised the fan, preparing to strike.

The leader smirked. "Go on Kaze-hime. You won't be able to accomplish anything. You're still too weak and fragile to take the lives of others again. All your loved ones will die here, and you will be powerless to stop their deaths, because a little girl named Oda Yuriko was too much of a coward to fight for her precious people." He said, testing the girl, his voice sounding confident that the girl would do nothing.

"I'm not a coward. I'm not afraid…anymore!" Yuri shot back defiantly as she made a sweep with the fan, a barrage of crescent-shaped blades of wind heading towards her attackers.

The leader attempted to cut through them, charging towards her, but the blades changed shape and dodged every sweep of the sword before returning to their original forms, exploding on every single one of the enemy youkai upon making contact.

Yuri ran to her friends, closing the fan with a snap, surveying the severity of her friends' wounds. Tsurugi didn't look good at all. He was losing blood quickly and it was already pooling around him. Satsu was covered in the crimson substance, her tears making their way down her face. Aijii hadn't moved since he'd been sent flying through the air, and Kago seemed in a great deal of pain, but gritted his teeth against crying out, trying desperately to suppress the agony he felt. Yuri glanced at the long sleeve of her shirt and deftly ripped it, tearing it into strips, making cloth bandages in an instant. She approached Tsurugi and tightly bound the bandages over the deep slashes in the boy's chest and abdomen. She then tore off her other sleeve, binding it over her brother's arm, keeping it taut against his wound.

"We have to find a safe place." The girl finally said.

"Where?" Satsu asked, her voice trembling.

"Kago, carry Aijii. Satsu, you and I will have to carry Tsurugi. I think that if we go north of here we'll find Shippou and Rin's house. We can stay there until everyone's all healed up. But right now, we have to get out of here, because these youkai are desperate to capture me and they'll stop at nothing to have me. I don't know how long they'll be lying there before their wounds start to heal, but we have to run now while we have the chance otherwise we'll all be killed. Right now we're easy pickings for anyone with a grudge against our grandfather. We don't have any time to lose, so let's hurry up and get out of here." Yuri explained.

They didn't know what to do. But they had no other choice. The two girls lifted the young Taisho heir, Satsu carrying him by holding him up from under his arms, while Yuri held him up by his ankles. Kago had his friend on his back, the boy seemingly unconscious. Without a backward glance, they took off, running as fast as their feet could carry them, hoping to reach their one place of sanctuary.

-

Shippou sighed as he stepped outside, preparing for a nice walk in the woods. Stretching lazily and yawning, fangs exposed, he stretched out his arms before taking in all the scents in the area. It was then that he noticed something was amiss. The pleasant breeze had stopped and the air was tense, thick with anxiety. It smelled eerie…it smelled of blood. Lots of it. Shippou's eyes widened as he realized that the scent loomed closer, and he had no idea when his own feet started moving, but he found he had stopped before a most horrifying scene.

Aijii rested unmoving on a wounded Kago's back, and Tsurugi, his blood falling in streams, was also unmoving, supported between Satsu and Yuri. The kitsune froze, unable to comprehend the scene before him. And then Yuri fell suddenly, clutching at her side which had stained crimson.

"Yuri-chan!" Satsu screamed.

The scream jarred Shippou quickly from his shock and carefully he took Yuri and Tsurugi from the now crying Satsu, nodding to Kago to follow him, and quickly. Solemnly they moved forward towards the house, their motions made in haste.

And then Rin appeared in the doorway and it only took her a second to take in the sight before she screamed.

"Oh kami-sama! What's happened to them? Shippou-kun! Answer me!" Rin exclaimed, overcome with shock and worry.

"I don't know, Rin-chan. But whatever it was, it was bad." The kitsune replied, placing Yuri down, following with Tsurugi.

Rin gasped in horror. "Tsu-kun! Tsu-kun! Oh god, Tsu-kun! Iie! Not you too! Not like Tsuki-chan…" she screamed out before she found herself shaking as her body was racked with sobs.

"Rin-chan, I'm going to get Inuyasha and the others…they're in Kagome's time, but they said they'd stop by sometime today. I'll get Sesshoumaru-oji-san and Hana-oba-san as well. I'll be back as soon as I can, alright? Just try and stop Tsurugi's bleeding. It looks like Yuri tried to bind the wound, but it's bled through. Satsu and Kago can help you, everything will be alright, I promise." Shippou said quietly after a few moments of listening to his beloved's sobs.

Rin nodded slowly, and the kitsune turned, going outside, where he could be seen sprinting away towards the well.

Silence settled in for many minutes before at last Rin's hoarse whisper penetrated the dead quiet. "What happened out there?" she asked.

"People came…looking for Yuri. Well, for the Kaze-hime…they came a long time ago, but they promised they'd be back, and they returned…for her. Tsurugi tried to fight them off. But the leader was so strong. Tsurugi was down and out before we could even blink. Then Kago and Aijii tried to take them on. Aijii's probably just been knocked out, but Kago nearly got his arm cut clean off. And then Yuri asked me for a fan…she killed the others…like last time…but the leader still wouldn't die. He's just so powerful…he's not like any other youkai I've seen or heard of." Satsu explained slowly as she rubbed tears out of her eyes.

"Sou ka…" Rin said in a low whisper. "I guess our family will always have problems, ne?"

Satsu let out a sound that sounded half like a strangled sob and a nervous laugh. "H-hai…"

-

'Finally! Hold on minna-san! Help is on the way!'

Shippou had finally stopped running, diving into the depths of the Bone Eater's Well, coming out on the other side, five hundred years into the future, shooting out of the well house like a speeding bullet, bursting through the front door of the main house.

"Nani? Shippou! What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Come with me, quickly, both of you." The kitsune replied, still stopping to catch his breath.

Then Inuyasha noticed it. "Blood…Tsurugi's, Kago's…and Yuri's! What happened? What about Satsu and Aijii?" The hanyou growled.

Mei Lhi and Kagome had just walked in the room to hear the hanyou's last sentence, the two of them had been bringing in the groceries, only to drop them in shock, the women staring wide-eyed with fear. Kyo appeared shortly after a solemn look on his face. Obviously his youkai hearing had picked up Inuyasha's words as well.

"Satsu and Aijii are alright. Satsu wasn't hurt at all, she's just in shock. Aijii's just been knocked unconscious. I don't know what happened, but there was a battle of some kind. I left them with Rin. But right now, we need to get Sesshoumaru-oji-san and Hana-oba-san. Tsurugi's wounds are pretty bad. And if Oji-san loses his one and only heir, there's going to be hell to pay." Shippou finally explained after feeling everyone's expectant gazes upon him.

And then Kyo walked out without a word, Mei Lhi following after him seconds later.

"Kagome, let's go." Inuyasha said, moving towards the door.

The miko nodded, going to her mate's side, Shippou lagging behind for a moment before he headed to the well once more.

-

'Inuyasha got lucky. His children have scarcely a scratch on them. But Kago and Yuri…kuso! I could smell their blood back there. Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have agreed to let them go alone!' Kyo thought angrily as he sped through the sky, following the blood trail.

"Kyoshi-kun…I know you're worried. But Rin-chan took care of Sesshoumaru-Onii-san when we were still at war with Naraku. She'll take care of them until we get there, ne?" Mei said, hoping to comfort her beloved.

Kyo sighed, and nodded. Glancing down, he sensed a great deal of blood and noticed that the natural flow of the wind had stopped. Curious he dropped down onto the scene and took it in. The blood and scents around him told a story. The scent of wind, a wild and untamed wind, penetrated his senses. At once he understood.

"This is…" Mei began.

"Hai…this is where it all happened. Come on. The trail continues up this way." Kyo replied, following the last of the trail, ending at a small house.

The two of them walked inside, seeing Tsurugi's abdomen covered with bandages, Rin watching over him worriedly. Satsu sat by her elder brother's side, waiting for him to wake up. As the two approached their children, they were surprised to see Kago look up at them and sigh with relief.

"Okaa-san…Otou-san…you're here." He whispered.

"Kago, daijoubu ka?" Mei Lhi asked instantly.

"Hai…I'm fine. My arm just got slashed. Yuri-chan is who I'm worried about right now. She took them all on after all the rest of us got knocked back. They came back Otou-san. They were looking for her. We tried to protect her…all of us failed. In the end she was the one to protect us. Kami-sama, everything happened so fast. All the youkai were down, and I didn't even notice that she got hurt. I never knew she was bleeding until she collapsed…kuso! I've failed her again! What kind of nii-chan am I? Gomen nasai Chichiue, Hahaue…Imouto-chan…I've failed again…" The boy replied morosely.

"Oi! None of this was your fault! Don't beat yourself up about it! You did the best you could! That's all I could ever ask of you. What's important is that you tried. If you were truly a failure, you would have run away like a coward and you would have left her to fend for herself!" Kyo snapped back, frustrated.

"I could've done more! I could've died for her instead of hid behind her when I could still fight! I failed, damn it!" Kago yelled.

"Nii-chan…please don't say that…you really did do the best you could. I would've been very sad if you died. You're the best Nii-chan anyone could ever ask for…" Yuri's voice said quietly.

Stunned, Mei Lhi and Kyo turned to their daughter, realizing that the girl was speaking for the first time in years.

"Yuri-chan…" Kago whispered, his angry tirade faltering.

"How's your arm, Nii-chan?" the girl asked, her voice still soft.

"I-I'll be fine. What about you? I didn't even see you get hurt."

"I had a brief lapse of attention…the leader rushed me right before I could attack. I…I was so focused on protecting all of you, everything else sort of disappeared. I guess he landed a quick blow on me before I knocked him back…"

"Yuri…were they the same ones as before?" Kyo asked slowly, hesitantly, almost afraid to ask the question.

"Hai. They returned. For me."

And it was in that moment that Kyo knew a big problem was about to unfold.

-

Together Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou had reached Sesshoumaru's castle at top speed. The hanyou had ignored the guards that tried to stop him from entering, and bolted through every door until he had at last found the taiyoukai sipping at some tea in his study.

"Sesshoumaru, you need to come with us." Inuyasha said at once.

The taiyoukai glanced at him nonchalantly, taking another sip of his tea. "What matter can be so pressing that you must break through nearly every door in this castle and require my presence?" he asked.

"It's Tsurugi. He's been wounded, badly. And he's lost a lot of blood. Rin's looking after him, but I think she could use some help." Shippou replied, his tone urgent.

Sesshoumaru immediately set down his tea and was on his feet. "Hana is upstairs." He said, walking away, returning moments later, giving his brother an expectant look.

And then they were off.

-

"One of the most valuable assets to a geisha is her ability to dance. So, it is fitting we begin with basic dances."

Arisu watched her teacher, noticing that the basic dance was very similar to the one she had performed when she was three years old. The other girls mimicked the teacher with difficulty, yet it came to Arisu with such ease. 'Reika was a great teacher' she mused.

More basic dances, and more boring class time. She'd been told that being a geisha was hard, but it seemed so easy. 'Ah, but you're not a geisha yet! You're still in school!' Arisu's thoughts reprimanded.

Finally her next class started. Ikebana and tea ceremony. Again, boring. She'd grown up being taught these things from her mother. Then the next class: more dance.

As she danced, Arisu could see into the room across the courtyard of the school, where much older and more experienced geisha were practicing what appeared to be very complicated fan dances. Looking closer, she could have sworn Haruka was one of them.

-

Arisu sighed as she put her wood block with her name on it onto one of the hooks on the side for "present". She went to her first class of the day, shamisen. It wasn't her best class, but she did alright.

"One, two, three!" The teacher counted off.

And then the room was filled with music. She was fifteen.

-

"I've decided. Arisu and Haruka, you two shall be bound together as sisters. Arisu, you've excelled so well in your classes. The school tells me often of your talents. I believe you are ready, and you have what it takes to become a maiko. The ceremony shall be held tomorrow." The mother of the okiya announced at the dinner table that same day.

The very next day was when Arisu had gotten her third name. This would be the last name she would get, she hoped. The first name she had gotten was the name she had been born with. The second was the name of the person she had to create in order to hide herself. But this new name, this third name, would be the name that the whole world would know, the name that she would introduce herself as, the name of a geisha.

After the ceremony had taken place, and Haruka had officially been appointed Arisu's elder sister, Arisu's geimei was at last revealed. From that day forth, she was no longer Tanaka Arisu, her new name was now Tanaka Miyoharu.

-

Arisu, now Miyoharu, sighed. Looking longingly across the courtyard of the school she could see the room where little girls all learned basic dances. Now she was one of those older and more experienced women she had seen so long ago, dancing with fans. She was seventeen, and life with Hatsumomo had suddenly become much worse since she had become a maiko. Hatsumomo sought any way possible to destroy her. Haku, now Hatsumiyo, thankfully hadn't caught on to her onee-san's wicked ways. Miyoharu and Hatsumiyo were both able to keep their friendship, but only in secret. Technically, the two of them should have hated each other, and should have been rivals. But the two grew up together, and both worked together always, and if the two of them hadn't been friends, they both probably would not have become as successful as they were.

With another sigh, Miyoharu looked around, noticing Hatsumiyo was no where in sight.

'Did something happen?' she wondered worriedly.

As if on cue, the door slid open and in walked Hatsumiyo, bowing low in apology for being so late. "Gomen nasai, Yume-san, but very important matters at the okiya needed my attention." She apologized.

Their dance teacher, Yume-san, nodded in reply and Hatsumiyo took out her fans and went to her spot next to Miyoharu.

"What happened?" Miyoharu asked in a low whisper.

"Not now. After class, Miyo-chan." Hatsumiyo replied in a terse hiss.

"Alright, that's enough for today. I have a few announcements to make. As you know, we'll be picking students to debut in the annual Dances of the Old Capital in the spring. Only sixty will be chosen, so you all must work hard and do your best to earn a spot. Most of you are maiko, and getting a major role in these dances can make or break your career. So from now on, work hard, and perhaps a few of you will be lucky!" Yume-san said to the class.

Around the room, many of the maiko had eager and hopeful eyes. To get a part in Dances of the Old Capital was the one thing any geisha or maiko would die to have. In fact, for many it was their dream to be a part of such a thing. For others, some simply became geisha so that they could dance in the show that one spring, and would put anything on the line just to get what they wanted.

Dance had been Miyoharu's last class of the day and she quickly put away her fans, as she watched as Hatsumiyo darted right out of the room in seconds. Rushing to catch up with her, at last the girl was in shouting range.

"Haku-chan! Wait for me!"

The girl paused, waiting in the middle of the street. Once Miyoharu had finally caught up, she started walking again.

"What's wrong Haku-chan? Is it Hatsumomo again?" Miyoharu asked, concern clearly reflected in her eyes.

"Hai! It's always her! Why can't my onee-san be more like yours? Hatsumomo said that she would be very angry with me if I didn't get a part in the spring dances this year. And that she'd be even angrier if you got it instead of me. I think she's planning to get you again. She could try to break your leg or something, anything to make you unable to get a part. She knows Haruka-san is much better than she is, and if she's your onee-san, she also knows that she'll undoubtedly rub her talent off on you, and your own talent doubled with Haruka-san's, well, you're bound to become more of a success than all of us! And plus, Haruka-san is the daughter of the okiya, so that's an even bigger reason for Hatsumomo to want to destroy you even more than she wants to destroy Haruka-san! Oh please promise me you'll be extra careful these next few months, ne? Otherwise I'll get too worried about you! Now quick! Run ahead of me so it doesn't look like we've been talking! If Hatsumomo finds out we're still friends, I'm going to be in huge trouble!" Hatsumiyo explained quickly.

"Hai! Ja ne!"

Doing as she was told, Miyoharu stepped forward briskly as she could while still looking natural while doing it. Hatsumiyo trailed behind her by several feet, her gaze at the ground. Within a few minutes time the two reached the okiya, retiring to their separate rooms where their onee-sans waited for them.

-

Hana cried out, seeing her son in such a state. She bit back her tears, but she knew she had work to do.

"Rin-chan, h-how is he?" The miko-youkai asked, her voice quavering slightly.

"H-His bleeding's stopped for now, he doesn't seem to have a f-fever or anything, so I think he's alright, b-but he's still in a lot of pain." Rin replied, her own voice shaking.

"How are the others doing, Rin-chan?" Kagome asked.

"Umm, Kago's doing alright, Yuri's conscious, Satsu's fine and I think she told me Aijii's awake now." The girl answered.

Sesshoumaru surveyed his son, looking around, giving a curt nod of satisfaction. He could not sense nor see the gaki. A very good sign. Tsurugi would pull through this, he would survive. He glanced at Hana, who had begun a chant with Kagome, the two of them healing the boy's wounds.

The rest of the house was silent; the only sound was Hana and Kagome chanting in unison. Then that too stopped. At once Sesshoumaru looked to his son, noticing that the wounds weren't completely healed, but they looked a great deal better than they did when they arrived. And then Tsurugi began to stir. At last his eyes opened.

"Chichiue…gomen, I was reckless…" The boy began, only to be silenced by his mother.

"Don't talk now. Rest and recover your strength." Hana said firmly.

"I'm fine. I don't need to rest. What I need to do is make sure everyone is safe." Tsurugi replied with as much stubbornness as he could muster.

"Tsu-kun, everyone's doing fine. You protected us and fought for us bravely." Satsu said from across the room.

"Who fought them off?" The young heir asked curiously. "I fell unconscious afterwards, and I don't remember much else."

"Kago and Aijii tried, but they didn't do much to help. It was Yuri-chan really. She's not afraid. She asked me for my fan…her first words in seven years were 'Give me your fan.' Heh. What are the chances of that…" The girl answered. "But Yuri-chan got hurt too. She'll be alright…Mei-oba-san and Kyo-oji-san are watching over her now."

Tsurugi took in the girl's words, letting a small sigh escape him.

'Yuri-chan…arigatou. You saved us. You saved us all…'

A/N: OMG I am SO sorry for how long this took! I've been blocked and idealess for ages and on top of that I had tennis practice, and I wanted to make sure this chapter turned out good and I wanted to make sure I could make it long enough, and I just hope it turned out alright, because there are many parts I don't like in this chapter and I almost scrapped the whole thing and wanted to rewrite it. But I didn't. Otherwise if I did it would be nearly September by the time you all saw Ch. 2. Anyways, I hope it didn't turn out too badly. I will try as hard as I can to fight my writer's block. (Yes, I still have it) And I will do the very best I can to get chapter 3 out faster than this one. School is starting August 31, so I'm gonna work extra hard to get Chapter 3 out before I have to return to school and tennis practice. Ummm, again I'm really, really sorry about the super-long delay. I hope you all will forgive me for that extra long wait along with that horrible cliffhanger. I'll get started on Ch. 3 right away! Now, translations:

The Return of the Dictionary of Crappy Japanese Translations by Aki-chan!

Chapter Title : "Ame no Aka" if my Japanese, as little of it as I know, is correct, I believe it roughly translates to "Red Rain" or "Crimson Rain" whatever…

Kaze-hime – Wind Princess?

Ikebana – flower arranging

Shamisen – Stringed instrument similar to a guitar but smaller and played with a large ivory pick, a plectrum. It is one of the many instruments geisha learn how to play.

Geimei – Professional name, the name a geisha takes once she debuts into the world as a maiko.

Maiko – Apprentice geisha, usually an apprentice of an older sister.

Gaki – The messengers of hell, or those ugly little gremlins the Sesshy can see on the dead. The usage of Tenseiga usually follows after he sees those little buggers.

Note: The three sections in italics were flashbacks if you couldn't guess XD